Vestre Habitats LEAF is an insect hotel for giving insects a home in the heart of the city. The shape of the product is based on a stylised leaf. The design is minimalistic and has a sculpture-like character which can easily be placed either alone or in groups, in flowerbeds, on a roof terrace, in planters or parks - let your imagination run wild!

The Designer Alexander Qual's Motivation: To save insects!
City parks and green spaces represent important habitats and Vestre is investigating how we can increase biodiversity in urban spaces through smart furniture design and vegetation interventions. Introducing the Vestre Habitats series.
Vestre Habitats is about learning and applying research-based knowledge in practice. Two specialist consultants assist us in the development of our design concepts: Palentologist Lene Liebe Delsett (Norway) and biologist Katrine Turner, MSc, PhD (Denmark).

From 2022 Vestre supports a research project together with University of Bergen department of Natural History and Bergen Botanical Gardens at Milde. Very few, if any, studies have been done to find out which insects, birds, creepy-crawlies and other species find homes in habitats created by human beings, such as parks and urban spaces. But now an interdisciplinary research project will utilize eDNA (Environmental DNA) for the first time to identify species and study impacts over several years.
⁠The project, called BoBie (Bee-home), is part of a larger project that also involves making urban spaces more bird friendly, as well as trialling specially adapted urban furniture to boost biodiversity in habitats, such as city parks, that were initially hostile to wildlife. The BoBie project has received startup assistance from the Norwegian Environment Agency.⁠ Project partners are the University of Bergen (UiB), La Humla Suse, and Vestre - with furniture from the Vestre Habitats-series. The objective of the Vestre Habitats-series, which won the Danish Design Award for 2022, is to help preserve biodiversity in cities and urban neighborhoods.

Three versions of the LEAF have been developed. The first version is intended for solitary bees and comprises a suitably shaped block of wood with holes with diameters of 6, 7, and 8 mm, because different species like different diameters. The holes are 150 mm deep because solitary bees lay a long row of female eggs before finishing off with one or two male eggs. If the holes are not long enough, the bees will only lay female eggs!
The second version has a metal cover on both sides. The inside is filled with various organic materials chosen to suit different types of insects. The cover keeps the organic material in place and also provides protection against birds and vandalism. The third version is intended for bumblebees and consist of a specially shaped wooden box. The front consists of a sheet of wood with an integrated landing area for the bumblebees. The prototype box has been designed to provide the best possible ventilation and protection for the bumblebees.
The most important thing to remember is to ensure that the biological, species-typical parameters are considered and thus enrich the opportunities for insects to survive in urban environments.

Design: Alexander Qual/ Rethink Studio

Model LEAF single: Article 5903-900/901 with baseplate (A) or anchored by means of concreting (C). H*1300/D 170/B176 mm (*height above ground level).
Model LEAF double: Article 5905-900/901 with baseplate (A) or anchored by means of concreting (C). H*1300/D 170/B176 - total width 377 mm (*height above ground level).
Hot-dip galvanized steel (901), optional then powder-coated in a RAL Classic colour (900).

Select fronts and inside options:
1) Solitaire bees: Perforated steel fronts, article 5904-900/901
Hot-dip galvanized steel (901), optional then powder-coated in a RAL Classic colour (900).
2) Insects: Fronts of perforated wood, article 5906-811, Untreated wood

Vestre is a Norwegian manufacturer of urban furniture. For more than 75 years, we have helped create social and caring meeting places for millions of people.
“Everything is possible for Our Lord and a mechanic.” With this motto, Johannes Vestre founded a small machine shop in the Norwegian town of Haugesund in 1947. After seven decades, all our manufacturing still takes place in Norway and Sweden, and our future goals are more ambitious than ever.

We have made long term sustainability a prerequisite in all parts of our operations. To be more specific, we have tied this commitment to nine of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

In 2013, we opened our Steel Factory in Torsby, designed by Snøhetta Architects. This year, we opened The Plus, the world's most environmentally friendly furniture factory. Together, Vestre and the Danish architecture firm BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group have created an entirely new typology, where people, production, technology, architecture, and nature are completely integrated with each other.
There is much talk about the triple bottom line, recording social and environmental, as well as financial results. Vestre’s philosophy is that everyone can save the world a little – and together we can accomplish great things. Each year, Vestre gives 10 % of the profit to sustainability projects. We invite companies all over the world to be a part of this initiative, and our hope is that influential companies in different countries will encourage other successful companies to give a part of the pie to our sustainable future.

Website: vestre.com